


Sharpshooter

by Bright_Sea



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Angst, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Female Pronouns for Pidge | Katie Holt, Group Hugs, Hugging, Hurt Lance (Voltron), Self-Doubt, Self-Worth Issues, Shiro is MIA, Spoilers for Season 2
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-24
Updated: 2017-02-24
Packaged: 2018-09-26 17:28:11
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,119
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9913196
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Bright_Sea/pseuds/Bright_Sea
Summary: Shiro is missing, Lotor has taken his father's throne, and the universe is in peril again. Team Voltron is doing what they can but one member feels utterly useless.





	

**Author's Note:**

> Lance absolutely killed me this season questioning his worth to the team. He needs all the hugs and support so I took it into my own hands to make sure that’s what he got.

_ “Shiro?” _

_ “Where’s Shiro?” _

_ “Shiro!” _

 

Lance’s bayard was cold in his hands. He was back in his room seated on the edge of his bed. He was exhausted, having just returned from a long and grueling mission. Yet, he didn’t relieve himself of his grimy armor or stash his bayard away. 

He was afraid to. There was no telling how long until the castle ship alarms would blare again. A quintant, a tick, maybe even less. Voltron’s battle never ended. 

For the split second after Zarkon’s demise, everyone had thought they had done it. They believed that evil had finally been ripped from the universe and that their duty as paladins of Voltron was finally over. Pidge and Keith were itching to go find their families, Lance and Hunk were excited to go back home to their own, and Allura and Coran were excited to see peace return.

All that hope shattered just as quickly as it had bloomed.

Shiro was missing.

Lance and the others discovered the black paladin’s loss not long after the battle’s end. There wasn’t a trace of him within the dark shell of the black lion. His bayard was all that was left.  

Black was silent.

It had been hoped that Black would go out and find her paladin like Red had done numerous times for Keith. Yet, she stayed shut down and unmoving once Keith and Pidge managed to carry her back to the castle ship. 

Daring not to give up their friend, team Voltron decided to take finding Shiro into their own hands if Black wouldn’t help. They tried tracing him, sending out signals, and contacting their friends throughout the universe. 

They found nothing.

To make things even worse, peace within the universe was short lived. Not long after Zarkon’s demise, a new name sent fear striking hearts throughout the universe.

Prince Lotor.

Haggar had escaped the battle and now with Zarkon’s son at her side, the two took over where Zarkon left off. The planets that had once been free of slavery were captured again. Those that had not were quickly attacked by the Galra and forced to bow before the universe's new tyrant. No matter Voltron’s pleas against it, the Blades of Marmora went back into hiding. They kept in touch, feeding Voltron information from time to time but kept themselves hidden within their time loops out of Haggar and Lotor’s sights. 

Peace had disappeared as fast as it had spread.

With a new threat hanging over them, the team was forced to make some drastic changes. Voltron needed a leader. They were all determined to find Shiro but in the time being, they would need someone to take his place. 

That someone was Keith. 

It wasn’t a surprise to anyone when Allura presented Keith with the black bayard. Shiro’s wishes had been clear long ago. He had faith in Keith and saw something within the red paladin that others could never really spot. Still, Lance couldn’t help but feel hurt by the announcement. Again, Keith had outshined him. The red paladin who he’s been running to keep up with one-upped him again. Lance didn’t doubt Keith. He knew that Keith was a good leader and that, given time, would maybe be almost as good as Shiro. What bothered Lance was that he wasn’t good enough to be even considered to lead Voltron. He knew that was mostly his own fault. He wasn’t good enough, after all.

Keith, despite his hot-headedness, could keep a straight head in certain situations no matter how bad or dangerous they seemed. He was smart too. Maybe not like Pidge or Hunk but the guy could plan an attack like no other. With him leading Voltron, they continued their search for the true black paladin and took down the Galra. 

Would things be going as they were if Lance was the one Shiro had chosen to take his place?

The blue paladin doubted it.     
  


Lance flopped back onto the cool sheets of his bed. Tears burned at the corners of his eyes and Lance didn’t bother to try and hold them in. He let them fall, feeling each drop burn down his cheeks and stain his skin. His bayard sat on his chest, a heavy weight but not as heavy as the pain and self-doubt coursing through his mind. 

“Lance!”

There was a knock on the door.

“Lance, it’s Pidge and Hunk. We baked cookies, man! Real ones this time!”

A sniffle broke from the blue paladin and he reached up a gloved hand. He wiped at his face and took two deep breaths before deeming himself presentable enough. 

“Come in!”

Pidge and Hunk didn’t waste a second. Lance’s door slid open and he watched with a raised brow as his two friends marched in. Pidge was on Hunk’s shoulders holding one tray of cookies while Hunk held another. They were both wearing aprons and were covered in a weird powdery substance. 

“We come bearing gifts!” Pidge announced and Hunk set his own tray down before taking Pidge’s so she could slide down to the floor. 

Lance chuckled and took a look at the cookies. They weren’t blue like the last ones. These cookies were a bright yellow with little flecks of orange. 

Hunk sat down beside Lance and the blue paladin didn’t miss the way the yellow looked him up and down. Lance shifted uncomfortably and reached for a cookie.

“What’re you still in uniform for?” Hunk questioned before Lance could try the cookie in his hand. “We’re off duty, man. Aren’t you usually the one sayin’ how we have to kick back more?”

Lance shrugged and took a bite of his cookie. The flavor actually wasn’t too bad— something mixed with the taste of a chocolate chip cookie and a banana. Still, the weird combo was actually pretty good.

“Oh, no,” Pidge gasped suddenly from her spot on the bed. She pressed a hand to Lance’s forehead. “You’re sick, aren’t you?”

“Ah! I knew it. You’ve been way too quiet, man,” Hunk cried and he reached for Lance’s forehead too. “I should've made my special chicken dumpling soup. Though, we don’t really have chicken so it wouldn’t be  _ chicken  _ dumpling soup. It probably wouldn’t be dumpling soup either since I’m not really sure how to make those without Earth food but I bet I could figure it out. I mean these cookies taste pretty good and I just mixed—”

“Guys, guys!” Lance shouted. He pushed a finger to Hunk’s lips. “I’m fine. Just want to be ready, you know?” He dropped his hand from Hunk’s mouth. “Zarkon was hard enough to deal with but his son? Guy has been keeping us on our toes since he first dropped in. Every time we put our feet up he goes and attacks like six planets. We have to stay on guard.”

Pidge snorted. “You sound like Keith.” 

“Well, he’s right,” Lance sighed. “That’s why he’s our leader.”

He gripped the cookie in his hands.

“He’s all cool and leadery. That mission he and Allura planned this morning was crazy awesome and they only had a couple of ticks to figure it out.  He was all cool and collective too. I mean…” Lance’s hands grew tighter around his cookie. “...you guys were there. You saw it for yourselves. Him and Black? They work great together. He acts just as comfortable with her as he is with Red, and I still struggle with Blue half the time. I love her, I do, but he can control  _ two  _ lions, guys!”

Hunk and Pidge shared a look.

“Lance, buddy, are you... _ jealous _ ?”

“Jealous? Me? Of Keith?” Lance yelped. “Heck no. I’m glad I don’t have all the pressure he has on my shoulders. It’s just…” Lance released the crumbled cookie in his hands. “I’m nothing compared to the guy. To  _ any  _ of you. I mean, I can shoot pretty well but what’s so great about that?” Lance waved at Pidge. “You can hack into anything, build huge awesome machines out of junk, and break any puzzle.” He looked to Hunk. “You’re a great mechanic, chef, and all around great guy. Everyone loves you.” His eyes trailed back to his clasped and shaking hands. “I’m worthless—”

Two strong hands clasped Lance’s face, smushing Lance’s cheeks and forcing him to make a fish face. 

Hunk was the one holding him. His eyes were dark and his brows pinched together in a deep frown.

Lance had never seen Hunk so angry.

“You. Are. Not. Worthless.” Hunk let go of Lance then and yanked the blue paladin into a tight bear hug. “You are so much, Lance. You’re not just a  _ pretty good  _ shot. You’re our sharpshooter. Yeah, we’ve all got pretty good aim, but you? Lance, you can hit  _ anything _ . When that one Galra had Slav? Pidge and Shiro said it was a perfect shot. You  _ saved  _ the mission. And when we were on that mermaid planet? Dude, you saved me from being a mermaid zombie, helped free an entire tribe, and took down a giant monster! That was amazing!”

“Hunk’s right, Lance,” Pidge joined in. “We’re smart but so are you. You can see things the rest of us can’t. We’ll be stumped one second and then you’ll jump in with some crazy idea that just makes everything work out.”

“You see?” Hunk asked. He was whispering now. Whether it was because he could feel Lance’s hot tears burning through his shirt or not Lance didn’t know or care. “You’re important, buddy. You’re just as much a part of this team as anybody.”

Lance’s breath hitched and he buried his face further into Hunk’s shirt. Hunk held tighter and placed a hand on the back of Lance’s head to card through his hair. Another pair of arms embraced Lance seconds later and Lance chanced a glance up at Pidge’s closed eyes and small smile as she held him just as tight as Hunk.

There was a knock on the door and the three started but didn’t pull away from each other. They turned their heads and looked up and down at the three figures standing in Lance’s open doorway. Allura and Keith stood side by side with Coran right in front of them. Their faces were soft as they met Lance’s eyes and a burst of anxiety suddenly ran through his veins. 

He tried to pull away from Pidge and Hunk.

“Uh...how...how long were you guys…”

Pidge and Hunk clung to him like squids.

“Long enough,” Keith revealed. 

Coran and Allura stepped further into the room and before Lance could argue, they both joined in on the comfort hug. 

The blue paladin stared at his friends hugging him and then up at Keith. The red/black paladin cleared his throat and finally stepped into Lance’s room. “They’re right, Lance,” he revealed. “You’re stronger than you make yourself out to be.”

“You have to say that. You’re the leader.”

“It’s true you idiot,” Keith snapped and he knelt down so he was eye-level with the blue paladin. “I envy you, Lance. You’re a great fighter and yeah a pretty good pilot despite what you think or what I say. You’re good with people too. Shiro…” Pain sparked in Keith’s eyes. “...he always knew what to say no matter the situation. He could make an entire planet follow him or get us to be confident in ourselves. He was the perfect leader but me? Ha. I can barely open my mouth sometimes without ticking someone off. You, though? You can talk to anyone just like any good leader.”

Keith leaned forward. He wrapped his arms around Lance and the others and pressed his face close to Lance’s.

“Me? A leader?” Lance huffed.

“When Shiro told me he wanted me to succeed him, I thought he was crazy,” Keith admitted. “I didn’t believe in myself. I thought being a leader would just be something I’d end up messing up. Shiro believed in me, though and I believe in Shiro.” Keith turned his head slightly to meet Lance’s eyes again. 

“Do you believe in  _ us _ , Lance?”

Lance was really getting sick of crying.

A choked gasp left his lips and he bobbed his head in a shaky nod before letting it fall against Hunk’s shoulder again.

They believed in him. 

His team trusted him and saw him as part of the team. He wasn’t the seventh wheel to them. No, he was the blue paladin, leg of Voltron, and number one sharpshooter. Not only that but he was smart, strong, and brave. They didn’t look down on him. They actually  _ looked up  _ to him. 

For the first time in a long time, Lance smiled.      


End file.
